


Fetch and Carry

by iiii



Series: Incidents in Transit [14]
Category: Firefly, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-07 08:25:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8790619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iiii/pseuds/iiii
Summary: “Oh, hey,” Sam said.  “King of Hell, Persephone.  I just got that.”





	

Jamie greeted them from a folding chair on the ramp.  “Hey, you're back!  How was Badger?”

“You mean Crowley?  Oh, he’s swell,” Dean said.

“Crowley?  Wait, Crowley?  Crowley as in ‘King of the Crossroads’ Crowley?  That Crowley?”

“Yep.  ‘Cept, last we knew he’d upgraded to running all of Hell.”  Dean turned to Sam.  “What’s he doing in some grimy tent on Skid Row?  Seems kind of low rent for him.”

“Getting back to his roots?  I think he actually likes making deals at crossroads,” Sam said.

“Rent on Persephone’s plenty dear,” Jayne said.  “They pulled a gun on him.”

“They pulled a gun on Badger and you walked away?  Where’s Mal and Zoe?”

“Dickering,” Jayne said.

“Oh, hey,” Sam said.  “King of Hell, Persephone.  I just got that.”

“Yeah, yeah – what are we going to do about him?”  Dean said.

Before Sam had a chance to reply, a van driven by one of Badger's employees pulled up by the port-post.  Mal and Zoe emerged from the back.

“Sound recall and put in for lift clearance,” Mal told Jamie.  “We’ll be going as soon as everyone's back.”  

Zoe jerked her head at Jayne. He followed her into the hold.

Jamie shouted for Hobey and An Lee, back-fence style, on her way to the port-post.  

Mal was left with the Winchesters.  “Victor tell you he posted those rib scans of yours to the Hunternet?  No?  Well, he did.  They took up a collection.  It's the Fangirl way.  Jamie tells me there’s enough coin to pay your fare with us to our next stop, and some further.  Or you can bide here, though I think our friend Badger won’t like that.  Up to you.”

They shifted aside to make way for the laden pallet-truck Zoe and Jayne were maneuvering out of hold.  The little children came shrieking past them all up the ramp into the hold and could be heard clattering up the forward staircase. 

Sam and Dean eyed Badger’s minion as she stowed the goods in her cart.  She gave them a friendly grin in return, then drove away.  Dean, the very portrait of reluctance, nodded.  Sam said, “Yeah, we should go.” 

"For now," Dean added.

“All right, then," Mal said.

“Do I have to keep standing bridge watches?” Jayne asked.

Before Mal could answer him, Kaylee broke up the conversation by driving a high-piled cart up the ramp and into the hold, followed by Simon and Victor on foot.  Jamie followed them aboard and closed the lock.

*****

Dinner began with a recap of the children’s day.  They had learned some new words from children from nearby ships.  An Lee was having trouble pronouncing “intricacies.”  As soon as was decent, Mal cut that off and asked Jamie for an accounting of the funds raised for the Winchesters’ travel.

She produced a tablet and began spouting numbers.  Funds deposited, funds pledged, contingent funds.  “I haven’t dug all the way through the conditions, but the ones I have read, a lot of them can’t be satisfied – they want definitive proof that you’re Sam and Dean Winchester, or they want to see specific miracles performed, that sort of thing.  Those aren't real money.  But the bulk is contributions toward appearance fees.  Some are for Santo, so that’s convenient.  Mal’s charging you 300 for passage there.  I’ve submitted a bill for the fare to the purseholder.”

“Wait…” Sam tried to interject.

“It’s a fair price.  Ask around.”  She paused to allow for further comment, but Sam was looking at Dean, who was glaring at Jamie.  “Our contract with you ends in two days at Mirable Port, Santo.  Next Cortex window, in” - she checked the time - “thirteen hours, I’ll validate your ID on the Hunternet so you can submit your own cash requests, ok?  You two should take a look at the Appeal and the responses, see if there’s anything they want to pay you to for that you actually want to do.”  She looked to Mal.

Mal said, “Don’t know how much of our forward itinerary you two gleaned already.  Starting with Santo, we’re going to be collecting apprentice wrights from sundry ports – that’ll take two months – and heading in for the Core exhibition circuit.  We’re contracted for one full round, that’s a standard year, and depending on how it goes we might do another.  It is going to be a very full house around here very soon.”  

“Can we go back to where you keep taking money to deliver us to strangers?  Because I am having a problem with that,” Dean said.

“They aren’t strangers,” Jamie said.  “They’re people I know.  Fangirls, hunters…”

“Gordon Walker was someone I knew.  A hunter I got drunk with.  Didn't stop him from using me as bait to kill my brother.”

“And do you even know them, yourself?” Sam said.  “From what I’m hearing, the entire internet knows where we’re going and when we’ll get there.”

“Dammit, we should have taken our chances with Crowley.”

“All right then,” Mal snapped.  “We’ll put you out at the next stop.  Which is Santo.”

*****

Six hours later, in the middle of the night, Sam lay still, eyes open, trying to work out what had woken him.  The background hum of machinery, his weight on the bed, the air he breathed, all no longer felt like the ship was flying.  It felt very much like it had when they were landed on Persephone.  

Sam reached the aft hold hatch just in time to see Zoe drive into the darkness.  Mal and Jayne sat on either side of the cart-trailer, on what looked to be heavy cargo, both carrying long guns at port.  Kaylee raised the ramp behind them.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to make night-side landings,” Sam said.

Kaylee startled.  “You going to report us?”

Sam shook his head, and turned away.  When he got to Dean’s room, River was already awake and peering at him.

“Where are we?” Sam asked.

“Pelorum,” River said.

“Which is…?”

“Luxury recreational resort.”

“Sounds good." Sam whacked at Dean's foot until Dean came awake.  "Dean, let’s go.”

“What?”

“We’re landed.  On a planet.  I know you don’t want to leave your hot-water bottle here, but pack up.  It’s time to go.”  Sam went to collect his own things.

Dean dragged himself out of bed.

“You don't know what's out there.  Best to stay with us,” River said.

“Yeah, no," Dean said.  "You've been nice and all, but we need to get off.”

A lifetime of quick getaways leaves its mark on a man.  The Winchesters had their belongings packed up and shifted to the hold within twenty minutes.  

*****

As soon as the landing party was back in sight of Serenity, Mal tried to hail.  "Kaylee, we're home.  Kaylee?  Jamie, where's Kaylee?  Someone needs to open up."

"Don't know why she's not answering, sir.  Haven't heard a peep from her,"  Jamie said as she operated the lock from the bridge.

"That's funny," Mal said, "'cause it looks like a right Donnybrook in there."

The ramp had lowered to reveal a tableau worthy of a Renaissance painting.  Dean and Sam had been demanding that Kaylee provide equipment so that they could remove their box.  Kaylee stood on her orders (and behind River) while River tried to cajole the Winchesters back to their beds.  All had stopped mid-gesticulation to look out into the darkness.

Jayne drove smartly into the hold, dispersing the scene.  Mal hopped off the back as soon as they hit level deck and raised the ramp behind them.

Sam and Dean rounded on Mal.

"You said you'd put us out at the next stop."  Dean said.  "Surprise!  Here we are.  Let us out."

"This ain't a stop. This is a... a..."

"A halt, sir," Zoe said.

"Yeah, a cargo halt.  No passenger ons or offs."  

"Bullshit."

"No.  We do not have time for shuffling cargo.  The law weren't exactly far behind us."

"We'll take our chances with the law.  At least  _they_ don't know we're coming."

Then everyone was talking or yelling at once.

No one noticed when River got that listening look.  No one heard when River said, "Huh."  

Mal's bellow cut through the clamor.  "I do not need my passengers' permission to raise ship."  He turned to the intercom.  "Jamie, raise - "

"Captain! Fireworks out front!"


End file.
